Irkutsk Oblast

Irkutsk Oblast is a Russian federal subject located in southeastern Siberia, with Irkutsk serving as its capital. Irkutsk borders Buryatia, Tuva, Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Sakha Republic, and Zabaykalsky Krai, and Lake Baikal is located in the southeast of the region. After the Tsardom of Russia's 1582 conquest of the Khanate of Sibir, Russians began to expand eastward; by the end of the 17th century, Irkutsk was a small town with monasteries, suburbs, and agricultural settlements. Irkutsk became a trade center for the regions of Kamchatka, Chukotka, Yakutia, Mongolia, and China, and it became a center of trade, craft, and culture. Since the 1930s, the industrial construction of the city began, and a rapid development began during the 1950s. In 2010, Irkutsk had a population of 2,428,750 people.